


The things we do for love

by Ponddipper



Category: Kingsman (Movies)
Genre: Awkward Conversations, F/M, Harry Hart is a Little Shit, Michelin, Secret Relationship, Secrets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-29
Updated: 2020-10-29
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:14:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,559
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27264061
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ponddipper/pseuds/Ponddipper
Summary: Eggsy, aka, Agent Galahad, might be one of his closest friends, but when he found out what Merlin had done?  Well, let’s just say it wasn’t likely to go down well.
Relationships: Merlin/Michelle Unwin
Comments: 1
Kudos: 6





	The things we do for love

With the snick of the lock, Merlin shut the weapons safe, securing the keypad with his thumbprint. Nobody but he could open that door now and access the various guns and gadgets within.

It might seem like over-reacting, but Merlin wasn’t going to take any chances once Eggsy arrived. He had trained their youngest agent, knew what skills the lad possessed, and Merlin wasn’t going to risk either of them getting seriously hurt, even if some might think he deserved it.

Eggsy, aka, Agent Galahad, might be one of his closest friends, but when he found out what Merlin had done? Well, let’s just say it wasn’t likely to go down well.

It briefly crossed his mind to ask Harry, Roxy or Percival to sit in, to provide back-up in case things went to shit before he had chance to explain, but Harry would almost certainly hold Merlin down while Eggsy attacked and Roxy would probably just pass him her gun. Percival was Merlin’s best bet, but even he was only 50/50 as to whose side he would come down on.

No, this was Merlin’s mess and he would face it like a man.

But he slipped a vial of tranquillizer into his clipboard stylus, twist his watch dial to ‘stun’, and began to shove any loose objects on his desk into the drawers. Just to be on the safe side.

*****

At 1 p.m. precisely Eggsy knocked on Merlin’s office door. Thankfully, tardiness was one of the few traits not to rub off on the lad from his mentor and current boyfriend. Had it been Harry he was waiting for, Merlin knew he’d have time to make, brew and drink a whole _pot_ of tea before the other man graced him with his presence.

Mind you, Merlin thought watching as Eggsy entered the room, he wouldn’t be having this kind of meeting with Harry, because Harry’s mother was _dead_. 

‘Can I get ye a drink, lad? I have tea, coffee, water or juice.’

Merlin stood, walking over to the little kitchenette against the wall as Eggsy entered the office and sat down in the armchair in the corner. It was as much habit as thought now for the young man, several years as a spy making him wary of his back being open to the room. That and his upbringing at the hands of Dean fucking Baker. 

‘Um, water would be lovely, thank you, Merlin.’ Eggsy coughed, his ‘posh’ voice grating on the older man’s ears. 

‘Relax, lad. You’re nae in trouble.’

Merlin attempted to smile, though it was an effort, and as he handed Eggsy a glass of water he could see the younger man wince. Not that successful then. 

‘I just need to talk to ye about a… ahem… a _personal_ matter.’ Merlin’s cheeks grew hot as he sat, looking away as Eggsy’s own face turned red.

_Did he know? Had Michelle already spoken to her son and not told Merlin? But then why wasn’t he stood here all guns blazing?_

‘If it’s about me and Haz in the library the other day,’ Eggsy coughed, face red as strawberries and eyes fixed on the glass between his hands. ‘I swear I didn’t know what he was planning. If I’d known, he was gonna do that…’ The lad’s eyes widened as he leant forward in his chair, water slopping dangerously close to the lip of the glass.

‘Lad, I dinnae wish to know.’ 

Merlin held up a hand to stop the details pouring forth. Harry and Eggsy might be his best friends (and didn’t that just twist the knife in Merlin’s gut), but he had no desire to know the intimate details of their kinky goings-on.

‘As long as you wiped any and all recordings and cleaned up the room afterwards, we shall say no more.’

Eggsy nodded silently, then took a sip of water, cradling the glass again in both hands.

There was an awkward silence for a few moments as neither man could meet the others eye before Eggsy’s youthful curiosity got the better of him.

‘So, um… what _did_ you wanna see me about then?’ He said, biting his lip as he looked up from under his lashes at the older man. 

It was a classic distraction technique taught to recruits, a way to elicit sympathy from your opponent, appear weak and timid to lessen their anger, to let themselves be underestimated.

Merlin wondered if he could pull it off so well.

Shifting in his chair and scrubbing a hand over his bald head with a sigh, Merlin tried to decide where to begin. How did he phrase this delicately?

‘It’s… it’s about your mother. I … well, she… um…’

He couldn’t bring himself to look the lad in the eye, averting his gaze to the chequer plate lino on the floor.

‘Merlin, what is it? What’s wrong? Is me mum okay?’

Dragging his gaze back up, Merlin looked at the pale and wide-eyed lad and sighed.

‘She’s fine, lad. At least, as far as I know.’

Michelle had called him last night, voice cracking from their first hello. Through choked off tears and hiccupped breaths she told Merlin she hadn’t been feeling well the past few weeks and things that had been regular suddenly weren’t. He wished he could have sent her to the Kingsman doctors but as far as Michelle knew they were just a simple tailor shop, not an international secret intelligence service and not many tailors had their own fully staffed medical suites, so they would have to rely on the good old NHS.

She made an appointment with her GP, to make absolutely sure and promised to call him the moment she had news. But there still hadn’t been so much as a text message from her and her appointment should have been through an hour ago.

‘Merlin!’ Eggsy whined. ‘What’s going on?’ 

Eggsy’s voice snapped the older man from his thoughts.

‘She thinks she might be pregnant.’ Merlin blurted, whole body tensing, his fist in a tight grip on his loaded stylus, ready to defend himself if and when Eggsy made his attack. 

‘She’s _WHAT_?’

Eggsy leapt to his feet pacing a few steps before turning around and storming back, shaking hands pulling at his hair. 

‘Your mother thinks she might be pregnant and if she is then I’m the baby’s father.’

Merlin knew he loved Michelle, had done for over a year. They hadn’t talked about kids or parenthood before but as soon as she voiced the possibility Merlin knew he wanted it, wanted the chance to have a proper family - Michelle, Daisy, and their unborn child. His to look after, to provide for, to _protect_.

The only problem was they hadn’t told anybody they were dating, let alone sleeping together. Things were complicated, as Merlin was technically, partly, Eggsy’s boss, not to mention his friend and it wasn’t like Michelle knew the truth of what went on behind the dressing room doors of Saville Row. But nature had forced their hand and Merlin was prepared to face the consequences, and Eggsy’s wrath, alone.

‘ _WHAT_?’ Eggsy stuttered? ‘How? _When?’_

Merlin shrugged, feeling like a schoolboy caught up to no good by the teacher as Eggsy slumped back into his chair. Rubbing his hand over his face, Merlin let out a heavy sigh, eyes boring a hole on the chequer plate lino of the floor as he braced himself to explain.

‘About 18 months ago ye and Harry were on a mission when Michelle came bursting into the shop, crying, and yelling, _begging_ to see ye. Apparently Dean had tracked her down to that Café she used to work at, turned up that day telling her she either came back to him or he was going to get custody of Daisy, never let her see the wee lass again.’

‘Fuck!’ Eggsy spat, hands yanking at his hair again. ‘That utter prick! I shoulda ended him when I had the chance.’

‘Nae, lad. He is nae worth the effort. But seems he followed Michelle to the shop, stood outside smug as shit until I went out there.’

Merlin released a huff of laughter and let himself relax a touch as he recalled what happened next.

‘I asked him who he was. Then told him I was her boyfriend, fresh out of Special Forces and unless he wanted a demonstration of our unique interrogation techniques he’d best just fuck right off. Andrew, Ector and Percival were stood outside the shop like a pack of bloody henchmen, arms folded and glaring fit to kill. Dean got the message, nearly shit himself in his haste to flee.’

‘Yeah.’ Eggsy sighed, flopping back into his chair. ‘You and thems got proper resting bitch face, Bruv. Scared the fuck outta us when we was just recruits.’

Merlin smiled a bit more at that.

‘Aye well, it got rid of him. But ye mum was so shaken up, I couldnae just let her go home on her own. I asked Roxy to fetch Daisy from nursery, take her for a sleepover. I didnae want the lass to see her mother like that, and I took Michelle home. Made her something to eat. I wanted to check all the security, make sure Dean hadn’t found the house but it was clear. I thought it best to stay the night, just in case but I slept on the sofa Eggsy I swear!’

‘Then what?’ Eggsy said, elbows on knees, hands supporting his chin, leaning forward almost eager to hear what happened next.

‘A few weeks went by, ye and Harry were on another mission and I got a call from Michelle. Her friend pulled out sick from a country and western gig and, knowing how I liked the music too, she asked if I wanted to go along. The tickets were non-refundable, so I said yes, took her to dinner to say thanks and, well, things grew from there.’

Merlin inhaled deeply, letting it out slow and studying the backs of his hands, before looking up to the young man before him.

‘I didnae mean to fall for her, lad I promise ye. But she’s the first person in a long time to see me for me and I just…’ He shrugged. ‘Well, ye cannae help who ye fall for can ye?’ 

‘Shit bruv!’ Eggsy laughed, throwing himself back into the chair and shaking his head. ‘You got it bad ain’t ya? So, what’s the problem? ‘tween you and Mum I mean.’

Merlin felt his jaw drop, had the boy not been _listening_?

‘Problem? What’s the _problem_? Lad, I just told ye I’ve been seeing ye mum behind ye back. For a year and a half! Christ we’ve been shagging for over a year and you ask me what’s the problem? Are ye really telling me you’re ok with that? That you dinnae _care_?’

Eggsy shrugged.

‘Why should I? You’re both adults and I trust you. Like you said it’s not like you can help who you fall for and you’re a good man. Unless…’

The lad stiffened; his jaw clenching so tight Merlin was afraid for his dentistry.

‘Unless?’

Eggsy pushed his chin out, eyeballing Merlin with the cold hard gaze of a trained killer.

‘Unless yous gonna fuck off, leave me mum to deal wiv your kid alone?’

The raised eyebrow was so reminiscent of Harry’s that Merlin wanted to laugh. But he held it in, Eggsys implication hitting a moment later, swiftly followed by bile rising up his throat.

_God! Did he really think that Merlin would…? Did he think so little of his friend?_

It was sometimes easy to forget that Eggsy had been raised on the estates, where single mothers were in the majority rather than not, where men would get their kicks then flee, leaving the women to struggle on, to raise their kids alone. The lad hadn’t had a decent male role model in his life since the age of 5, so it shouldn’t surprise him that Eggsy’s reaction would be that Merlin would abandon them too.

‘Christ Lad no! I wouldnae do that. I LOVE her, Eggsy. I’m nae going anywhere I promise ye.’

Reaching out to put a hand on the lad’s shoulder, Merlin squeezed, a gentle reassurance added for good measure.

‘Yes, at first I was shocked and to be honest a bit scared. I’ve never really thought about being a dad before but it didnae last long. Shit I spent most of last night writing out lists and thinking about names. We might not have planned this baby, but I swear to ye it will nae ever suffer from a lack of love.’

‘Well that’s good then, innit? Cos I really didn’t wanna haf to beat you up.’ 

Eggsy slouched in his chair, arms folded across his chest, a half-arsed attempt at a scowl on his face that quickly dissolved into a grin when Merlin looked at him. 

‘I didn’t really think you was the type to fuck and run, Bruv.’

Then the little shit had the cheek to bloody wink.

Silence stretched between them for a while, each man digesting the revelations of the past few minutes. Merlin was relieved that Eggsy genuinely seemed to be OK with the relationship between his mother and one of his best friends. It could have been so awkward, especially if Merlin had to act as handler for one of his missions. Of course, he still had to tell Harry and the man _was_ a drama queen, but at least he had the lad onside so there was less chance of unpleasantness.

Having forgone a drink earlier, in case Eggsy decided to try the poison pen trick he’d used to dispatch Chester King, Merlin stood up and walked to the kitchenette again, to make them both a cup of tea. He even brought out the tin of shortbread fingers his Auntie Morag sent him for his birthday, that he’d been saving for a special occasion.

‘I can’t believe you’re taking this so well.’ Merlin said handing Eggsy the mug of sweet milky tea. ‘Anybody else would be trying tae kill me right now.’

Eggsy laughed as he took a sip.

‘To be honest, Merls, I’m relieved. I had my suspicions mum was seeing someone, but I couldn’t find no proof. Was getting right paranoid, scared who it might be, or whether they was doing it to try to get to me. I felt like shit because she’s been so much happier of late and I didn’t want to ruin nothing. But I trust you Merls. You might act all mean and scary, but you’re really a big old softie under them fluffy jumpers ain’t ya?’

Merlin snorted, half laugh half protest, but tiredness was creeping in and he couldn’t muster the energy to react properly.

‘You’re both really important to me Merlin and I want you to be happy.’

‘I don’t want ye to feel pushed out lad.’

‘Merls don’t be daft. I’m a big boy now. I’ve practically left home already what with how much time I spent at Harry’s place. You ain’t pushing no-one out I swear.’

Merlin sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose before looking back at the young man full of surprises before him.

‘And ye really don’t mind? About a wee bairn, I mean. I know ye went through it with Daisy, but things are different now.’

‘Merlin I’d love a little brother or sister for Daisy. Someone her own age to play with. It was hard sometimes being an only kid, especially with no Dad around. Lonely if ya see what I mean. I was lucky cos I got to hang out with Jamal and Ryan a lot when Mum was at work but there were times, I wished I wasn’t alone.’

Merlin patted the lad's shoulder understanding what wasn’t being said. Eggsy truly didn’t blame Harry, or Merlin for that matter, for the death of his Father but there would always be what-ifs.

‘Just let me know when you two need some grown-up time, yeah and I can watch Daisy and the Baby for ya. It’d be a right laugh watching Harry try to change a nappy!’

‘Just make sure ye record it lad. Can never have enough blackmail material on our Arthur.’ Merlin smiled, thinking of the entire hard drive he had stored of Harry’s bloopers from the past twenty-five years of their friendship.

‘Nah, I can go one better.’ Eggsy winked, drawing his face into an innocent expression. ‘I just stop putting out for a week and he’ll come crawling to me on his hands and knees. Man’s insatiable, bruv.’

Merlin shuddered, rubbing a hand over his face at too much information about his oldest friend’s sex life. 

The lad must have picked up on something in his expression because he leant forward again, one hand on Merlin’s knee.

‘You’ll be a great Dad, Merlin. I know you will. In a way, you kinda are to us lot here. We got a problem, we come to you. Something’s broke, we know you can find a way to fix it. I only wish you’d met me mum before Dean. Bet you’d have been aces when I was growing up. Could have taught me all sorts to impress the boys, and how to defend my honour.’

Both men laughed, the tense atmosphere seeping away by the second to leave a comfortable silence until Merlin spoke once more.

‘What…what would ye say, ‘Merlin asked, looking up at Eggsy to judge his expression, ‘if I wanted to marry ye Mum? Would it be a problem for ye? I have nae asked her yet but, ye know, future plans and all.’

Eggsy's face split into a huge grin.

‘I’d ask if ya wanted help to choose the ring Bruv.’

‘I may just hold ye to that.’ Merlin laughed. ‘I’ve nae got to that stage with a lass before so I have nae clue what I’m looking for.’

Suddenly his phone started vibrating in his pocket and when he pulled it out, he saw Michelle’s number on the screen. 

Eggsy must have seen his face change because suddenly he was on his feet and reaching for the door.

‘Let me know what happens yeah?’ He nodded slightly to the still vibrating phone in Merlin’s hand then left the room, giving the man space to answer his phone.

‘Michelle? How did ye get on?’

As it turned out, she wasn’t pregnant. Her tiredness, achy limbs and feeling sick turned out to be the onset of the menopause and she was heartbroken to get Merlin’s hopes up only to dash them again so fast. He had to admit he was a bit disappointed, but it wasn’t the end of the world. He still had Michelle, wee Daisy and Eggsy too. They would be family enough for him. So, that night when he went round to her place, he held her, soothed her, and told her it didn’t matter.

‘Think about it really though,’ He said as they lay snuggled together in bed. ‘Do ye really want to go through all that again? Swollen ankles and the constant need to pee for months on end, feeling sick, craving weird stuff and hours and hours of labour. Then you get sleepless nights, toxic nappies, and painful boobs, followed by teething, toddling, tantrums and tears. Harry’s bad enough but a bairn on top? Urgh!’

Merlin gave an exaggerated shudder and Michelle laughed, which was his intention.

‘It would have been nice though, wouldn’t it? A baby of our own? A little me and you running about the place?’ She sighed, tracing patterns on the skin of his chest.

‘Aye, but we can always adopt if you want one day or get a dog. At least then ye can sell their children.’

Michelle laughed again, swatting at him with one hand then burrowing deeper into his arms.

‘I love you, Hamish McNair. I really really do.’

‘Aye. I love you too.’

Merlin proposed on the second anniversary of the day they met at the shop. Eggsy helped him choose a ring from a jeweller on Bond Street and Merlin booked a cottage in the country for a week, just he and Michelle. They had a picnic under the stars before he went down on one knee.

Thankfully, Michelle said yes.

Once Harry heard their news, he couldn’t resist getting in a jab, however.

‘You do realise my dear Hamish that once you are wed, I will become your Son-in-law?’

‘What are ye talking about old man? Ye and the lad aren’t wed yet. Ye have nae even asked him!’ Merlin huffed.

‘Hmm, are you really so sure about that?’ Harry said, holding out one hand and examining it idly.

Merlin’s eye was caught by the glimmer of a plain gold band sat discreetly on the third finger of Harry’s left hand. His _ring_ finger.

‘Yes, Eggsy and I popped over to see Elton last weekend and he was most obliging.’ Harry smirked, giving Merlin a shit-eating grin before heading over to coo over Michelle’s engagement ring.

But as Merlin watched his best friend, his fiancé and the lad who would become his stepson, he found he didn’t really mind too much. 

For his family, it was worth it.

THE END

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading this. It's an idea I've had in my head for a while (Like a couple of years!) and I really needed to get something posted so this is what you get. I'm struggling to write much at all these days so any feedback is much appreciated. Even if it's telling me to cease and desist!
> 
> The reason for writing it is mostly because a Michelle / Merlin relationship could be called a 'Michelin'. Sad, I know.


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